Monday, August 22, 2011

08/22/2011
Ratings agencies are the
financial world’s equivalent of today’s global “fashion dictators,” from
Gucci, Dior, to Louis Vuitton, who decide what’s in and hot from the
ramps of Paris or Milan. In the same way that fashion aficionados look
to these luxury brands for the latest trends, presented in glossy sheen
by the leading magazines, high-end department stores, boutiques, and
celebrity “fashionistas,” ratings agencies are dutifully followed by the
investment world’s big and small fund speculators, investors, and
banks.

Down a rung or two, so-called “pirates” — both fashion and
financial — from Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shenzhen, or Manila always keep a
close watch to get their new line of pirated designs or passed down
prognoses of financial ratings agencies, which then enable them to
partake of the “killing.”

For them to succeed in mesmerizing the
masses whose pockets are the goal, the global mass media is
indispensable. Day in and day out, this mass media churns out fashion
and financial glitter to keep audiences in rapt embrace.

While I
have not followed the fashion scene for quite some time, I get the
impression that the dearth of new names making an impact both here and
abroad may well be one of the signs of the times of declining economic
fortunes and increasing misery.

As I have been following more
closely the financial ratings agencies, I have helped in aggressively
debunking the myth of their validity, reliability, and relevance for
real financial and economic evaluation of the global and national
economy. In fact, this space is only one of the very few critical of the
so-called big three — Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings —
which mainstream business media consider as the gods of their financial
Mount Olympus.

In the past decade, we were among the few voices
in the wilderness on this matter; but ever since the Global Financial
Crash of ‘08, where these ratings agencies still spouted rosy prognoses
of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, AIG, and other financial houses the
day before the sky fell on them, the world’s view of them have already
taken a negative turn.

For sure, Standard and Poor’s credit
downgrade of the US a week ago while Obama and the Republican-dominated
House were in the thick of their “debt cap” debates has not helped
either, especially since Moody’s and Fitch weighed in with their
positive ratings just a few days after American political and financial
authorities raised their vehement objections.

As I have written
before, both China and Europe have since reacted against these ratings
agencies. China set up its own called Dagong after declaring the
traditional ratings agencies as “unreliable,” whereas Europe threatened
to establish its own after the big three downgraded Portugal and Spain’s
credit-worthiness at a crucial moment of the EU (European Union)’s
recovery economic efforts. As these ratings agencies are now in
disarray, all we can say is “Good riddance!”

Similarly, we also
want to call attention to the western “international” news agencies such
as Reuters, Associated Press (both British), and Agence France Presse
(French). Like the top fashion houses, these major news wires
practically dictate the world’s news trends and, when they choose, even
the direction of national news stories.

Many Filipino newspapers,
broadcast networks, and news writers take these major news wires’
reports as gospel truth and repeat whatever is fed to them over and over
until every Juan, Pedro and Maria believe these to be gospel truth.

Let’s
take the latest news from the Associated Press (AP) about Libya where
its headline says, “Libyan rebels: Key city, oil terminal seized,” as
well as Reuters’ “Libya rebels strategic town (Zawiyah) near Triopli”
and Agence France Presse (AFP)’s “Fighting erupts in Tripoli as rebels
say regime is doomed,” all of which are not balanced by news such as
those coming from Russia Today (RT) on statements by the Libyan
government’s official spokesman belying these claims, which are never
reported by the three major Western news agencies.

Each morning,
after perusing all the major national newspapers on the Internet, I
shift to reading Press TV (official news wire of Iran), RT (Russian
cable news), Prison Planet (a dissident Web site in the US),
GlobalResearch or the Centre for Research on Globalization (an
anti-globalist Web site), China Daily, and Asia Times. When I turn on my
Destiny Cable, I go immediately to RT and CCTV 9, and only scan CNN,
BBC and Al Jazeera briefly. You’d be surprised at the utter Western
media bias. For example, it is only from RT that I get this report:

“Independent
journalist Lizzie Phelan says the reports are an effort by Natp to
create panic. ‘The only gunfire that we are hearing is celebratory
gunfire,’ she said. ‘And the only explosions that we are hearing are
Nato air strikes or Natp sound bombs, which are clearly designed to
create a sense of panic in… Tripoli.’
Phelan said that the Libyan rebels
created fake footage of themselves in Zawiyah and Tripoli, and were
aided in disseminating the footage by, among other media outlets, Al
Jazeera. The Qatar-based satellite television station… has been at the
center of the media conspiracy against Libya. The Western mainstream
media, she continued, in turn picked up these reports and repeated them,
creating a sense of panic among the Libyan people. Later… a number of
armed gangs emerged… sleeper cells of rebels… (which) began firing
randomly and threatening ordinary people… ‘They then took footage of the
empty streets, which created the sense that they were in the process of
capturing the city.’”

Al Jazeera, financed by a
Western-controlled potentate, the Emir of Qatar, has been at the
forefront of the disinformation campaign against Libya, starting with
the fake news of Gaddafi’s jets bombing demonstrators back in February —
news which CNN and BBC then repeated endlessly. Like fashion czars and
financial ratings agencies of the West, these major news wires are mere
tools of foreign financial predators. Time for the public to wake up!

08/22/2011
There was a time in the past
when Aug. 21 was etched in every Filipino’s mind and was marked in the
calendar by those in power as a day to prepare for massive protests for a
generation under the rule of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos, not
only because it marked the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983 but
also because of the treacherous bombing of the Liberal Party convention
at Plaza Miranda in 1971.

Both tragic pages in the country’s
history were blamed on Marcos but to this day, the real perpetrators of
these most celebrated crime incidences in the country have yet to be
identified with only the pawns believed to have been sent in jail.

Comes
the son, Noynoy, and half the world comprising the Chinese population
has reasons to mark the day as the victims and relatives of those who
were killed during the botched hostage rescue operation wait for their
taste of justice, this time from the Philippine government after eight
Hong Kong residents died from the hand of a disgruntled policeman who
took them hostage on Aug. 23 last year.

For somebody who has
supposedly been through the same ordeal in seeking justice for his
father who died from the uncannily similar violent means, Noynoy is
giving the relatives of the slain Hong Kongers strangely almost the same
treatment that his family got from the Marcos government in those dark
days of 1983..... MORE

08/22/2011
Under the Noynoy
dispensation, it certainly looks like the accused are being coerced into
proving their innocence instead of their accusers proving their
allegations, which contradicts the principle of the presumption of
innocence.

This has been clearly noted in the Senate hearings,
where some senators claim to come up with exposés, make their
conclusions of guilt then demand that whoever they allege to have
committed the “crime” comes forward to disprove their charges.

There
went the Senate, after declaring Mike Arroyo guilty in the sale of the
helicopters, pronouncing him to be the owner, and demanding that he
appear before the Senate to disprove the allegations of ownership.

When
Mike’s brother, Iggy, came forward to claim that it was LTA Inc. that
leased the plane, the senators again demanded that he appears before the
Senate to disprove the charges, even saying that if he does not, then
it is clear that Mike Arroyo is the real owner of the helicopters. Huh?
Is that the way for Senate “prosecutors” to prove their case? Duh..... MORE

08/22/2011
NEW DELHI — There is no small
irony in the fact that India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for
his probity and integrity, now finds himself fighting for political
survival with an anti-corruption activist.

When the Congress party
won elections in 2004, its decision to name Singh as premier was partly
based on his unblemished record as the “Mr. Clean” of Indian politics.

After
a thumping re-election in 2009, Singh was more popular than ever and
there was never any doubt that he would retain the post for another
term.

But in the past year his reputation has taken a battering
with a succession of high-profile, multibillion-dollar corruption scams
involving some top government officials..... MORE

08/22/2011
We join the friends and
associates of the respected and multi-awarded writer and editor, Kerima
Polotan Tuvera, in prayers on her passing two days ago at the age of 85.
Considered one of the best writers the country ever produced, she was
the former editor-in-chief of Focus Philippines, a weekly magazine and
the afternoon daily, Evening Post. One of her best known novels, Hand of
the Enemy, earned plaudits in the international literary world. She
will be best remembered not only as a writer par excellence but as a
durable task master whose presence and patience helped start the careers
of many of our writers today. She was married to another gifted writer,
former Presidential Assistant Juan Tuvera by whom she had 10 children.
Our condolences to the family.

Government
chief peace negotiator Marvic Leonen yesterday said no peace deal will
be signed in the next round of talks with Muslim rebels in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia this week.

Even as President Aquino and Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad have pledged to accelerate
the ongoing negotiations to conclude a final peace agreement during a
surprise meeting in Tokyo, Japan last Aug. 4, Leonen said no accord will
be hastily approved until provisions are thoroughly reviewed.

“We
have learned from the lessons of the past and we will not repeat the
same mistakes. I would like to emphasize that there is no ‘done deal,’”
Leonen said. “The government panel is not going to Malaysia to sign a
peace agreement.”

The Aug. 22 to 24 Malaysian-brokered talks would
provide an opportunity for both sides to tackle substantial issues,
including a rebel demand for an expanded Muslim autonomous region and
larger access to revenues from natural resources in areas guerrillas
want minority Muslims to control.....MORE

President
Aquino, on the day marking the assassination of his father former Sen.
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., indicated interest in reopening the 1983
double-slay case of his father and the supposed assassin Ronaldo Galman,
claiming that he knows who the culprit is who he said has not been held
accountable yet in any court of law .

“I believe I know who it is. How can we (be) able to prove it up to the penultimate level? ‘That’s the issue,” he said.

Aquino also hinted that he is interested in running after several associates of former President Marcos
who
may have something to do with Ninoy’s death but was not held
accountable because they managed to slip out of the country and escaped
prosecution. Aquino hinted that these “key personalities” have since
returned to the Philippines and can be subjects of a re-investigation.

Among
the Marcos associates who left the country after the Edsa revolution
but are now in the country are former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte
Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, daughter Imee who is now the Governor of
Ilocos Norte and son Ferdinand Jr. who is now a Senator. Others include
the Romualdezes who also occupy various elective posts..... MORE

08/22/2011
House Speaker Feliciano
Belmonte yesterday said that the House of Representatives is going to
push through with the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of
the Constitution even as an ongoing survey among lawmakers showed that
there are currently 68 percent or 153 lawmakers who are in favor of
amending the Charter.

Only 29.60 percent or 66 congressmen are
against the proposal particularly on the question of timing. Four or
1.79 percent of the respondent-congressmen was undecided.

The lawmakers were responding to the question: “Do you agree it is time to amend only the Constitution’s economic provision?”

House
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile
had met several times to discuss the issue of amending the economic
provisions of the Constitution..... MORE

About
85 percent of the total 17,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) working
in Syria were undocumented and were illegally recruited and victims of
human trafficking, according to Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC).

Susan
Ople, director of the BOPC, said this yesterday at “Balitaan Sa
Tinapayan” forum where she belied earlier reports that only 60 to 70
OFWs had expressed desire to return to RP after being caught in the
Syrian conflict.

Ople
asked the government to host a dialog between the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) and the families of OFWs working in Syria and hope to
forge a high level negotiation with the Syrian government for the
repatriation of OFWs trapped on the recent violence in Syria..... MORE

08/22/2011
In its efforts to help
improve the quality of textbooks in the country, the National Book
Development Board (NBDB) recently bestowed the 2010 Quality Seal on
Araling Panlipunan. Kultura, Kasaysayan at Kahuhayan 5 published by
Vibal Publishing House Inc. received the Quality Seal for Araling
Panlipunan after undergoing meticulous evaluation by NBDB’s selected
pool of experts. Dr. Maria Serena Diokno of the UP College of Social
Sciences and Philosophy, one of the judges of the Quality Seal, praised
the book for including those aspects of our history that are often
neglected, such as the role of women and ethonolinguistic experts.
Moreover, she added, the book emphasizes national culture, which
prevails despite the influence of colonialism and Catholicism. In his
welcome message, NBDB chairman Dr. Dennis Gonzalez said while the NBDB
continues to respond to the call for better instructional materials
through the Quality Seal, schools should also do their part in assessing
the books that their students use..... MORESource: The Daily Tribune

By Charlie V. Manalo 08/22/2011
Two
officials and a staff of the House Media Relations Services (MRS) of the
Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) are facing possible
dismissal from service after several employees of the House of
Representatives slapped them with administrative cases before the HoR
Grievance Committee and Disciplinary Board.

Requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal,
the employees, who are all Buencamino’s subordinates at the MRS, said
they are seeking the immediate dismissal of the three as the three
respondents not only have violated the existing CSC rules and
regulations but have also arrogantly declared themselves to be
virtually untouchables, citing their close relationship with Speaker
Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte..... MORE